Midori
by SunshineTails
Summary: Leafia only wanted to go back to her homeland to find out the truth behind her father's identity, but after an ill-fated meeting with the devious Gary Erihara, would she really get the answers she wished for? And what's the deal with Prism and Rosen, the two gangs tearing Saffron City apart with their fighting? Everything is connected to Midori, and everything is soon to fall.
1. Chapter 1: Midori

_1\. **Midori **_

She always believed that would live a fairly normal life. After spending most of her childhood in the rural town of Twinleaf in the region of Sinnoh, she was filled with a sense of boredom. Her days were set on repeat, living her life by routine to the point where she hardly even noticed the passing of time. By the time her seventeenth birthday had rolled around, Leafia couldn't quite believe the person she had become after so many years. Dark locks of hair which she had refused to cut short, lay contently by her stomach and her eyes were a weak shade of brown.

Nothing about her screamed attention. Leafia Midori was the type to fade right into the background. She was simply a shadow of a person, happy to float through life alone. However, a shadow cannot exist without light. Dawn-Louisa Garcia was just that. They met on Leafia's first day of school after moving up north to the Sinnoh region. She was six years old and her new classmates were intrigued by her; it wasn't often that any foreigners moved to such a cold climate, after all. They were friendly enough but they plagued her with questions about everything; from her previous life in the Kanto region to the gangs that ruled there. Leafia was terribly bewildered, looking up at a sea of light-haired, pale-skinned children who had lived in the chill of the cold all of their lives.

Her prayers were answered however, as another young girl simply walked up behind Leafia and asked her classmates to stop bothering the new girl. Amazingly enough, they listened to her. This girl had a huge presence and her authority amazed young Leafia, to say the least. The children began to walk away, going back to playing games and running around. Leafia simply stared at this girl in awe. Her hair was a radiant midnight-blue, tied up in a ponytail.

"Hello, I'm Dawn!" she smiled without a hint of hesitation. "What's your name?"

"I...I'm Leafia. Leafia Midori," she replied timidly, a certain edge to her voice.

"Leafia? What a pretty name!" Dawn squealed, her eyes sparkling. This girl honestly frightened her when they first met, as they were exact opposites. Everything about Dawn shined, from her bubbly personality to her dazzling smile. Although Leafia was apprehensive at first, she slowly learned to trust Dawn and they had stayed friends ever since then. Leafia remembered their first meeting well, despite it's simplicity. Dawn was the only friend she had after moving away from Kanto and she treasured her a lot, despite never showing her feelings on the outside. She did not wish to be so stoic, it was just how she was. Dawn always used to say that Leafia should smile more, apparently it made her look so radiant. Leafia would simply avert her eyes to the ground, pretending not to have heard. She has smiled before, of course, but those times were few and far between.

As she grew older, she began to forget about her previous life in Kanto. Memories faded, and as a result she forgot the faces of the children she used to play with. Another thing she had forgotten was the face of her father, and this was something she didn't wish to happen. Her mother refused to talk about him whenever Leafia happened to raise the question, hastily changing the topic of conversation before her daughter could press her for answers. She knew it was wrong to hide the truth, yet she continued to do so. She wanted to continue protecting her daughter for as long as she could.

Leafia often wondered about her father. She was intent on finding out who he was and why he was never a part of her life. She wondered why her mother decided on such an abrupt move to Sinnoh all those years ago, taking her away from the life she once knew. Nothing made sense; something was missing.

However, she had made many wonderful memories from her time here in Sinnoh. When Leafia was ten years old, she got her first Pokémon. This was something she remembered vividly, even now, running up the stairs to Professor Rowan's lab in the next town over with Dawn leading the way. The bluenette girl chose her starter right away, a tiny blue penguin called Piplup. Leafia could not choose however, as none of the three Sinnoh starter types appealed to her. She wasn't being ungrateful, she just wasn't attracted to any of the three.

Even after all the other children had left, Leafia was still undecided. The Professor walked up to her and smiled. "You don't want any of them?"

"I...it's not that..." she muttered. "I just don't think any of them are right for me..."

"I have an idea then," he replied, going into his office and coming back promptly, a ball in his hand. He released the creature and Leafia stared in adoration. It was a beautiful red lizard Pokémon with a fiery tail. She knew she'd seen one of these before.

"This is from my homeland..." she murmured quietly, kneeling down to pet its head. It responded back happily, a bright smile on its face. "He certainly is," the professor replied, "I would like you to take care of this Charmander for me. He was supposed to be kept for research purposes but I know he'd be much happier with you."

"Thank you very much, Professor." She then broke out into a huge smile, leaving Dawn shocked as she waited by the door. She'd never seen Leafia this happy before.

"Take care, girls," Professor Rowan nodded. They thanked him once more before leaving the laboratory.

"What a cool Pokémon! I've never seen one of those before!" Dawn squealed as they headed back to Twinleaf town.

"He's one of the starters from my homeland," Leafia replied, as she walked with Charmander still in her arms. It was the best gift she had ever been given. She was going to treasure him with all her heart.

* * *

Seven years had passed since then and life in Twinleaf had become a huge normality for Leafia. High school was challenging, but it had its perks. She was a bright girl, despite her shyness, and she put everything into her studies. Leafia always had time for others, however, especially her best friend. Dawn was still the same as she had always been, charismatic and peppy, everything that a true light should be.

Leafia once told Dawn about her theory of the light and the shadow bringing out each other's strengths and Dawn was intrigued by it. After thinking it through, she realised that Leafia - or 'Leaf' as she tended to call her these days - was exactly right. Their qualities complimented each other, and although Dawn had many friends as a result of her personality, Leafia was always the most important one of all.

"I'm her light, huh..." Dawn muttered to herself as she headed home that day, her feet treading through the snow. It was one of the nicest things she had ever been told, and it brought up a lot of memories that had been made as a result of their complimenting differences; such as the time where Dawn was twelve and had become a bit of a brat, refusing to let Piplup evolve. It had become such a problem that she called Leafia and begged her for help. Leafia simply stated that she would be there in two minutes, before hanging up. After arriving, she calmed Dawn down and explained that she had to respect the wishes of her Pokémon, and that evolving would do him a world of good; their bond would strengthen even more as a result of it.

Dawn put all her faith into Leafia that day, and allowed Piplup to evolve. It was the best way forward, and Dawn was glad that she always had Leafia around to help her in these situations.

However, something was constantly lingering in the back of Leafia's mind, awakening itself every time she laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes. As happy as she was with living in such a rural land, she knew in her heart that this wasn't where she belonged. Life was almost too good for her here; stuck inside this perfect, frozen little town with absolutely no recollection of what life was like in her homeland. She wanted to find her father and learn the truth about why they left him.

Of course she knew exactly how different Kanto and Sinnoh were. Sinnoh was a region of tranquility and snow while Kanto had a reputation of violence and gang crime, particularly in the cities. Despite this, Leafia knew in her heart that she had to go. She didn't want to leave Dawn or her family behind but if she didn't, then another seven years would pass just as quickly as the last did. She didn't want to spend her life in such a way.

Convincing her mother to allow her this was surprisingly easier than Leafia had thought it would be. Of course, she wasn't happy with it as Kanto was quite a dangerous place to live, but if this was what she wanted, then she could not say no to her. Leafia was incredibly independent and she knew she could cope. Her mother also knew that she owed her daughter this. She'd kept secrets from her all her life, taking her away from the place where she once lived.

Of course, there was one person who was absolutely horrified to hear the news. "What do you mean? Leaf? You can't be serious..." Dawn trailed off on her last sentence. The look on Leafia's face told her everything she needed to know.

"This is something I feel like I have to do, please don't hate me for leaving," she muttered. Dawn stared at her best friend, tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, before stopping herself just in time. "...It's alright! Really!" she faked a smile. "Where are you going to stay? Are you enrolling at a new school?"

The brunette girl nodded. "I'm staying with my grandmother in Saffron City and I'm also going to school there."

Dawn looked away for a moment, thinking about a life without Leafia in it. She didn't want her to go to what she considered to be a dangerous land, yet she couldn't tell her this. Leafia had been trying to get answers for years, it was about time she actually stepped forward and grabbed them with her own hands. Dawn truly admired her.

Leafia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Dawn. "I'll be back, I promise you that. I have to find out who my father is, there are many things I need to ask him and I must find out why he abandoned our family. Please understand, Dawn. I know it's selfish of me-"

Dawn's eyes widened, she could hardly believe what she was hearing. "You are not selfish, Leaf!" she barked back, perhaps a little too hastily. Her cheeks reddened. "Sorry, I...never mind."

Leafia's lips curved up into a tiny smile, petting the head of Dawn's Prinplup, who also seemed to be showing a look of concern for the brunette. "Don't worry, I'll take your word for it. There is no other person in this world I trust more than you."

Dawn felt a wave of guilt wash over her, but she pushed the feeling away. "I guess all I can do is be the greatest friend I can be until you leave, huh..." she murmured. "I'm so glad you understand," Leaf replied. "Thank you, Dawn." Leafia was honestly terrified about the journey she was about to embark on. The shadow was leaving the light, could she make this work? A tiny part of Leafia was telling her to stay right here in Twinleaf Town, continuing to live comfortably in the ice and snow. However, she knew she couldn't do that. She had far too many questions to ask her father, and she hoped that he would tell her everything she wanted to know.

It was a part of her life that she needed to find out about.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This has been sitting in my notes for months now, so I figured it was about time I showed my face here again ^_^ This was originally supposed to be a rewrite of Codename Kitty, however I ended up getting v carried away with the planning, so much so that I somehow created an entirely new story plot altogether. I hope you all enjoy this one! feel free to review and ask questions or point out any mistakes, etc. to me so I can fix them. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2: Kurumi

_2\. __**Kurumi**_

She walked through the city streets with her head held high; sporting a very dangerous look in her eye. Every passerby watched in fear as May Kurumi, leader of the Kanto-based gang Prism, made her way through the crowds. She effortlessly parted the citizens of Saffron City with her presence alone; making herself an easy path to walk through. This girl was not to be taken lightly despite her smaller-than-average height and her overall feminine features. Her hair was a deep shade of chestnut brown and it was also rather long, as she had been growing it out. May was wearing a simple tank top and a pair of shorts, as it was a particularly hot day in the city.

Three other members of Prism walked with her, high on alert. Protecting the leader of their association was their top priority and although she found her recent bodyguards to be quite a pain, she knew how necessary they were.

"So hot..." she muttered as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She glanced over to the three men walking beside her. "Oi, I'm done here. We're going back."

They obeyed her instructions and continued to walk her down the street. The crowd watched in both awe and fear as possibly the most dangerous person in the whole of the Kanto region simply passed them by so nonchalantly. One of her men watched her with curiosity as they headed back. May looked cynical as usual but there was a tiny, questionable smile on her face. She had clearly done something but she had ordered her men to wait while she attended to some 'business', so they had no idea of the events that had taken place during this time. Nobody dared to ask her; now that would be foolish.

They walked in silence until they reached the main building. Long ago, back when Prism first formed, they took over an abandoned, run-down bar on the outskirts of the city and began to build it up. Back then, the leader was May's older brother, Max Kurumi. Before the Kurumi siblings and Prism came to be known throughout the region, Max worked three jobs in order to put food on the table and to keep the establishment running. May worked her hardest too and eventually, Prism gained the fame that Max had craved all his life.

He came to be known as the Tyrant, and he lived up to that nickname until the very end. He slowly gathered more members and he worked hard to make Prism a gang to be feared by others. They raised riots in the city, wreaking havoc amongst the people under Max's strong leadership. May was only a young teenager at the time and was still in school despite being a member of Prism. She admired her brother for working so hard.

Prism rose up in the ranks, becoming well-known throughout the entire region. By the time May was seventeen and in her final year of school, another gang began to fight their way to the top of the food chain. They were known as Rosen and they had an anonymous leader who went only by the name of Kuro. The Kurumi siblings found this to be absolutely ridiculous - how could a gang function if the members had no idea who their leader was? Yet somehow, Rosen ultimately became stronger. Kuro led them from a mere computer screen, and the citizens began to take a higher interest in Rosen because of this. It was fascinating. However, not even the members of Rosen said they knew who Kuro really was, so it was a mystery that wasn't likely to be solved at any time soon.

May hated Rosen with a passion; just thinking about them made her blood boil. She kicked open the door to the main building and stomped inside, while trying to get all thoughts of Rosen out of her mind. She walked over to the bar, slamming her fist on the counter.

"My, aren't we impatient today?" a familiar, soothing voice softly called out. Drew Hantori, one of May's most trusted friends, was standing on the other side of the bar, nonchalantly wiping down a glass. He wore a white shirt with a black bow tie around his neck, coordinated with dark coloured jeans. The air conditioning in this building was a lifesaver for him; the cold air tickled the back of his neck and swept his oddly-coloured green hair ever-so-slightly. The smile on his face suggested that he was extremely amused.

"Shut up," she muttered; her head pounding as she thought back to the events of much earlier on. "Get me something strong."

"Of course, Your Highness," he snickered before going off to get her the beverage she requested. May turned away, ignoring him. This was a normality; she always let him off with such remarks. This was a privilege of which nobody else in Prism had. It didn't go unnoticed, however. A few of the younger members had even created a theory that she did this because Drew was the only person who treated her exactly the same as he'd always done; even after _that_ incident all those months ago.

Most people were generally wary around her, ever since that day. May was not someone to mess with and she made this point perfectly clear. However, there was someone who knew exactly how to push her buttons. His name was Gary Erihara and he was a scheming, devious little rat. He was a member of Rosen and was currently the bane of May's entire existence. She had no idea where he came from; one day he suddenly sprang up into her life from out of nowhere and he hadn't left since, insisting on making everything difficult with that disgusting grin of his.

She tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths; closing her eyes. Thinking about Gary Erihara would only lead to something being smashed or hurled at the wall.

"Hey, boss!" a male voice piped up from behind her. May turned around to see two young members, a male and a female, both around the age of seventeen.

"What?" she replied, placing both hands on her glass as Drew placed it down in front of her.

"It's not often you go out in the city alone in broad daylight, where were you going?" the girl asked. She had fiery red hair, pinned to the side of her head in a ponytail.

"I wasn't alone, I had some backup with me," May yawned, the heat from the city making her even more tired than usual. "And that is none of your business; I simply had a few loose ends to tie up."

The two young members felt a slight sense of suspicion after hearing that, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. After all, May was the leader of Prism and she was the one in charge. They respected her for what she did.

"So I go out of my way to get you something and you don't even drink it. I'm hurt, boss," a voice purred from in front of her. May sighed - Drew was definitely in a teasing mood today.

"I'm drinking it," she replied. "And don't call me boss, it sounds fucking weird coming from your mouth."

He laughed at that, and May couldn't help but smile. His laugh was surprisingly light and soft; the sound was pleasing to her ears. Having Drew here always reassured her, even if she never showed him gratitude for it.

May turned back to the two kids. "Shouldn't you two be in school right now?" she asked, throwing a look of slight disapproval in their direction.

"Ah..." the girl replied with a guilty expression, scratching the back of her head. "We, uh, finished early today."

"Yeah, we did!" the boy backed her up, shifting uncomfortably in his jean shorts.

May knew they were lying from the minute they opened their mouths, but she didn't bother to argue. She liked seeing the kids have such enthusiasm about Prism, the same way she used to when she was seventeen herself. It was extremely rewarding. May was only twenty years old but she felt so much older now that she had so many responsibilities. It was nice to see her own passion flaming in others.

"Of course you did," she drawled, leaning over the bar. "Oi...Misty, Rudy. Stay out of trouble."

The boy and the girl were shocked that the most feared woman in the whole of the Kanto region had called them by their names so casually.

"S...sure thing, boss!" Misty chirped, secretly ecstatic. She idolised May Kurumi - this was one of her reasons for joining Prism in the first place. Rudy grinned, a slight blush on his face as he turned and walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Drew recognised the look on Rudy's face and smirked, nudging May's arm. "What?" she muttered, lifting up her head.

"I think a certain seventeen-year-old over there has the hots for you," he whispered.

"Leave the poor kid alone," she hissed, replying almost immediately. She shot a glare in Drew's direction. Rudy had quite a discreet crush on the leader of Prism, however, her perceptive nature meant that it hadn't taken her long to realise it. She had found it all to be quite sweet. Drew left her side to go and tend to some other people and this allowed her to actually stop and think for a moment.

She wondered about many things, but the main thing that continued to spring to the forefront of her mind was the face of her older brother, Max Kurumi. He was the founder of Prism and the reason for their rise in power. He was authoritative, intelligent and extremely cunning. May admired his determination. However, she was just as sly as he was and the Kurumi siblings were a force to be reckoned with in the Kanto underworld for a number of years.

Now, things were different. Max was no longer with them and May was running Prism in his steed. She had closed herself up away from the world and the light in her once bright, blue eyes had faded. Drew Hantori was the only person who knew how to deal with her after Max's death; having known her for many years. The other members of Prism were so grateful to him for that.

May missed her brother so much it hurt, even though six months had passed since his death. Max was the only family she really knew and loved; her father left her mother when May was four and Max was eight and he decided he wanted nothing more to do with his wife or his children. After that, instead of focusing on her children, their mother focused only on herself and her own needs. This was something that Max had resented her for. She didn't care for them at all. The Kurumi siblings managed to run away into the inner city years later and this changed their lives for the better.

She quickly stood up and walked through the back of the bar, desperately in need of some time alone. May didn't like to think back to her childhood as there were very few happy moments for her to bask upon. Instead, she'd continue to move forward; despite her troubles, because that was what it meant to be the leader of Prism.

She was alone, but she had to move on.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey guys ^_^ I'm sorry I took such a long time to post this, my laziness is truly getting the better of me. Anyway, the first four chapters are based around one of the four main characters of this story (Leaf, May, Gary and Drew) and I know it's quite slow-paced at the minute, but things will begin to take off soon I promise.

On another note, in this AU I have made Max the eldest, but this Max is NOT THE SAME as the one in the anime, he's basically an oc that I assigned to be May's elder brother but I really liked the name Max for him and it seemed to stick in my mind. I know it's a bit confusing, sorry ^^'

Again, please review and also feel free to point out mistakes so I can fix them quickly! I really want to know your thoughts on this story and whether it's worth me continuing so thank you again.


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